As the clock struck twelve, Zhou Quan and Au Wing-yan sat together at the dining table.
The inseparable couple always sat close beside each other, never facing each other across the table.
Listening to the fireworks going off outside the window, Zhou Quan and Au Wing-yan raised their glasses and exchanged smiles at close quarters.
"Siu Yan, happy New Year's Eve!"
"Brother Quan, happy New Year!"
The two glasses touched gently with a clear clink.
On this festive occasion for family reunions, Sir Kwan, who seldom drank, had made a rare exception and poured himself a glass of baijiu.
Drinking baijiu from a stemmed glass looked rather incongruous.
But with only the two of them in the dining room, there was no need to stand on ceremony.
Au Wing-yan's glass, meanwhile, was filled to the brim with freshly squeezed juice.
"Siu Yan, this is our first Spring Festival in our own home."
Taking a small sip of the fragrant baijiu from China, Sir Kwan, who usually remained unruffled, wore a rare look of wistful emotion.
"There'll be a tenth, a twentieth, a thirtieth..."
"Until we grow old together! Until we pass away, one after the other!"
Being able to marry a devoted, virtuous wife like Au Wing-yan in this lifetime made Zhou Quan feel prouder than becoming the Police Force's Number One would.
"Then I'll have to go before you, Brother Quan."
Au Wing-yan lifted her chopsticks and picked out a piece of the most tender belly meat from the fish in the center of the table, the dish symbolizing abundance year after year, for Zhou Quan.
Although Zhou Quan now lived on Hong Kong Island, he still retained some habits from his earlier years growing up on the Mainland of his Motherland.
The dishes on the table before them